Improvement in  crochet-needles



N Unimarc; STATES? @irrt-cn- Ji M. HO"AD"LEYO`F DEfRBY, CONNECTICUT..

IMPROVEMENT IN @ROCH ETJ``N EEDLES..

Specification` forming part oflLettcrs Patent No. 39,572, dated August 18, 1863; antedated. January 17, 1863.

T0 all whom it mayotcern:

Be it known that I, J MI HOADLEY, of the town of Derby, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Crochet-Needles 5 and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use my invention, Iv will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of one of my improved crochet-needles, shown in condition for use. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the same closed, or shut up for convenience of carrying in the pocket. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of same with the removable ferrule off and needle partly closed into handle. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section through the center of apparatus or instrument. Fig. 5 is a partial longitudinal section showing a modification of my invention. Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section of the', fastening and removable ferrule; and Fig. 7 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 4, but showing still another modication ot' my invention. l

Where the same letters occur in the different views they indicate the same part of the apparatus.

A represent the handle of the crochet` needle, which may be made of any suitable material and design; and b is the needle.

Previous to my invention it has been cus tomary to secure the'needle b permanently to the handle A, or screw it into the stock of the handle 5 and a great objection. to crochet-needles as heretofore made is the liability to cut a hole in the pocket, (where a ladywould naturally carry one,) the liability of injury to the point of the needle while carried about, and the necessity of having a different instrument entire for each dierent sized and shaped needle.

My invention has for its object a crochetneedle in which the needle proper may be readily shifted so as to have its point perfectly inclosed or incased and protected, and also in which the needle proper can be readily re-v l.

moved entirely from the handle and replaced by another of different size or shape for various kinds ofwork and to these ends my said invention consists in so constructing the instrument or tool as that the needle can be folded 4 or closed into the handle when not required for use, and opened or slid out and secured in position for working, substantially as hereinafter described; and my invention also consists in so constructing and combining with the handle the shank of the needle that while the latter may be readily closed or shut into the handle and secured in a working position, (as just mentioned,) it may also be entirely removed and substituted by a different needle for different work, as hereinafter described.

In Figs. l, 2, 3, and 4 the handle A is made with slot or groove cut in it, as shown at a, to accommodate the needle b, which is hung on a pivot, fi, (at its shank,) in one end of handle A. Y

cis a removable ferrule or tip made of thin metal, (see Figs. 3 and 6,) and so shaped as to iit snugly over the needle end of handle A. This tip c is so formed at its smaller end as to have an orifice just large enough for the needle b near its shank, so that when the needle is turned out in the position shown at Fig. 1, and the said tip or ferrule c placed around needle and over end of handle A, the said tip or clasp c will fit close onto the handle A, snugly around the needle b, and hold the latter firmly in the desired position forworking. When it is desired that the needle be put up, the ferrule cis removed, the needle turned on its pivot i (as illustrated at Fig. 3) after the fashion of a penknife-blade, and closed into the slot a, when ferrule c is again placed on end of handle A, as shown at Fig. 2, and the instrument is in a very desirable condition to be carried in the ladys pocket.

In lieu of hanging the needle b permanently on the pivot t', as shown in the figures just referred to, I propose in some instances to form the shank of the needle b with a hook or loop, as seen in Fig. 5. With this mode of construction the needle may be closed into the handle and held out for working (by ferrule 0,) as just described of Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, while at the same time it can be entirely removed from handle A for the substitution of another needle with a similar shank but different point.

At Fig. 7 I have shown another modication of my invention, in which the needle b, instead of closing into the side of handle A, is so combined with a hollow handlel that when the clasp or tip c is removed the needle may be pushed or dropped into the central bore or cavity a of the handle A.

It is obvious that my invention is subject to a great variety of modifications all involving the same principle, and I desire to secure protection in all the different modes of carrying out my invention, which rests in the idea of a crochet-needle so constructed that the needle can be closed into the handle or held irmlyin a Working position at pleasure, and also so made, if desired, as that one handle will serve for the employment (at different times) of different needles for different kinds of work..

Having described the construction and operation of my improvement, andA not wishing to be understood as limiting myself to the exact modes shown'of carrying out my invention,

whatIclaim as new, and desire to secure. 

